A series of vintage films that showcase the technologies and processes of printing, journalism, and typography.
Promotional film for the Mergenthaler Diagrammer which helped automate technical drawings for schematics, electrical diagrams and drafting. With a “James Bond” style introduction, this amazingly complex machine seems more exciting than you would think. There is a great little sequence showing the 1886 Blower Linotype (before its restoration and acquisition by the Smithsonian Institution) and the Elektron. It also gives a quick overview of typing for tape perforation. Year: 1970
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Now playing Season 1, Episode 7 — Linotype: The Diagrammer
February 8, 2026
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Season 1 • 8 episodes
A film created by Carl Schlesinger and David Loeb Weiss documenting the last day of hot metal typesetting at The New York Times. This film shows the entire newspaper production process from hot-metal typesetting to creating stereo moulds to high-speed press operation. At the end of the film, the new typesetting and photographic production process is shown in contrast to the old ways. There are interviews with workers at NYT that are for and against the new technology. In fact, one typesetter is retiring on this final day as he does not want to learn the new process and technology. This is the first time the film has ever been available in HD from the original 16mm master film. Ca. 1978
Made for the 75th anniversary of the Linotype in 1961, this film shows the impact that the invention of the Linotype had on the printing industry and the world. There are excellent sections on typeface design, cutting steel punches, using the Benton engraving machine, and the manufacture of Linotype matrices. The film showcases various models of Linotypes, machines running via tape and Teletypesetting, as well as Linofilm machines and the process of producing film type matrices. (note: audio is missing for the first 10 seconds) Year: 1961
“In the age of jet speed, Mergenthaler presents the Elektron: fully automated typesetting that is jet fast and all new from the base up.” This film showcases the completely re-designed Elektron Linotype. Fed by perforated tape, the Elektron can cast up to 15 lines per minute without an operator at the machine. With many electronic and hydraulic parts, the Elektron was Linotype’s last hot-metal type casting machine. Although many improvements were made, the limits of mechanical type setting had been reached and the Elektron was too little too late for the market that had moved on to photo and computer composition. Year: 1962
The Linotron is a very early CRT exposure machine. It creates a page (not just a line) of text at one time. Using a film grid of characters, it can create up to 1,000 characters per second. The film starts with a great animated sequence showing the speed of change and the overwhelming mass of communication. The Linotron 1010 is a CRT machine in three parts; the control unit, the character generator, and the output/display unit. It no longer uses tape input, but now uses magnetic tape from computers. Year: 1966
Featuring the cathode-ray tube Linotron 505 for high-speed film typesetting. Although this is a film machine, the input is still controlled by perforated tape. The film features many line diagrams on how the CRT machine works and exposes the characters onto paper or film. It goes into depth about the optical grid system of characters on glass plates. The ability to photographically create “fake” italics is possible for the first time and the facilities that create the grids are shown in detail. The film ends with an aerial view of the Mergenthaler (a division of Eltra) production plant in Long Island, New York. Year: 1969
This film features the Model 31 (with up to four magazines) and the Model 32 (with up to 8 magazines with the auxiliary magazines). Many new safety features and speed improvements are displayed. Key features: one revolution magazine shifting, swinging keyboard for ease of service, pot safety stops, easy knife adjusting, Mohr Lino Saw, mechanical quadding, and the thermo-blow mold blower. Year: 1955
Promotional film for the Mergenthaler Diagrammer which helped automate technical drawings for schematics, electrical diagrams and drafting. With a “James Bond” style introduction, this amazingly complex machine seems more exciting than you would think. There is a great little sequence showing the 1886 Blower Linotype (before its restoration and acquisition by the Smithsonian Institution) and the Elektron. It also gives a quick overview of typing for tape perforation. Year: 1970
Created by Mergenthaler to show off the newest typesetting, film and computer machines to the American Newspaper Publishers Association. This film was created at a time when all newspapers knew film and computer technology were the future, but they were not yet convinced in which technology to invest. It features the Elektron, tape-perforating keyboard center, Linofilm Quick, and other early-computer machines. Many newspaper men in suits, thick glasses, and skinny black ties. Year: 1967
